I will edited my first post on this thread to remove the bi-color description. Thanks for bringing this issue up, Julie!!

I love Orange Velvet. I bought the plant last year as a double fan, and it has already increased to 7-8 fans. It had many blooms this year (didn't keep count), and was so tall that I moved it to the back of the bed so that it wasn't blocking other daylilies. It wasn't fazed a bit by being moved right in the middle of bloom season. It had over a month of bloom time in my zone 8 garden, and took the heat very well.

Apparently “Orange Velvet” is tender in the north.

I remember reading about OV on hybridizer Paul Owen’s website-- he said he loves it but it was tender for him and didn't survive when he lived in Pennsylvania (zone 5). So he developed “Work It Girl”, which is a grandchild of OV, as a sort of northern substitute of OV.

OV took a couple years to settle in for me. I wasn't sure I liked it until it's third year, the blooms and color was pretty under whelming those first couple of years. But now that it's settled in, it's a beautiful Daylily. The blooms are huge. Really stands out. And it just gets better every year.

Thank you for the acorn Becky.

Orange Velvet has lived for many years in my zone 5 garden. Have never counted the buds, but seems to have plenty of blooms and increases rapidly. The color is hard to capture but is a very nice citrus orange that goes well with most anything.

I have been growing Orange Velvet for some years now in my Long Island garden. I admired it from photos posted on the old Garden Web Forum and another poster graciously sent me a start for my garden. I thought it would do well on one of my front yard daylily beds as it is so striking. Those beds can be seen by anyone passing by so Orange Velvet is very noticeable being a striking glowing orange flower.

This bed gets no special care and nothing but rainwater. But Orange Velvet puts on a striking show each season. Such a lovely daylily.

Just noticed Orange Velvet is sending up a rebloom scape. Don't remember that happening before. Must be all the rain we had this year.

I really only have good things to say about Orange Velvet. The stats on Orange Velvet have it at 30 inches in height and that is what I have seen in my gardens. I do not keep up with bud counts on all my plants, but I can tell you that once it begins blooming mid-season, it just continues on with reblooms. The blooms are large but the 6.5" stats must take in account if you were to flatten out the curved blossom...as I don't think mine have ever been 6.5" from one curved edge to the other. The petals do have the velvet feel to them and that is nice. This plant increases well and just has that healthy, robust look to it.

I bought mine last year. It seems to be doing okay. It was a busy summer, so I did not keep track of buds, etc. The color was good and it was tall. So far I can recommend it.

Took these photos this morning of 'Orange Velvet', the first scapes have bloomed out, the blooms in the photo are on rebloom scapes, then there is a set of scapes getting ready to bloom, then there is a set of scapes coming in after that with tiny buds.



Edited to add update:
I went down and pulled 12 dead scapes off the plant this morning. Purchased by on April 3rd 2015 as two fans, it is now probably over 30 fans (could not count them they were so close). The scapes averaged 27 inches with 11 buds per scape, with only two way terminal branching. The plant this season bloomed on 05-06-2017. The photo is from this morning showing it still in rebloom with more to come.

I bought Orange Velvet based on the reviews here, and I have not been disappointed. I bought my first plant in June of 2021, and since its bed was not ready, I put it into a pot, where it promptly bloomed (much to my surprise):


I planted it in the bed that fall, and it did beautifully the next spring. It has not shown a speck of rust. I liked it so much I got another plant, which I planted next to the first one. The second plant bloomed too, though it was not in sync with the first one. I had to redo the bed the plants were in because of tree roots, so when I replanted them, I put them together to form a large clump. I am looking for a big show from Orange Velvet next spring!

I can do little to add to what has been mentioned. I made a bud count a couple years ago, 16 - 25 on 10 scapes and I stopped counting. Mine is certainly more than 30" tall, as much as 40". Multiplies fast with huge lovely flowers

I have to agree with what others have said about the height of Orange Velvet. It seems that my clump gets taller than the registered 30". It is near the front of the flower bed (wrong place, I know) and many years it has reached almost up to the shoulders of my 5'3" height.

I've had it since 2016 and it has multiplied quickly. I've not seen rust on it. The scapes are thick and sturdy. Branching is usually 3-way, but some scapes are just 2-way. Bud count is probably between 12-18. Examples from 2020 and 2021:



I can see why there was some confusion about being a bi-tone (but it is definitely not a bi-color). It can look like a bi-tone when the sun has faded it. The sepals do look a shade or two lighter than the petals. This picture was taken at 5pm.


I have recorded two years with rebloom scapes on OV and it is unusual for me to see rebloom. Last year, I had 2 months of blooms on OV with the help of this rebloom scape, which even had a poly bloom on 8/28/22. The second picture shows the branching with the poly bloom facing to the right.



With its tall, thick scapes, its long wide leaves, and its large blooms, it can be a behemoth in the garden. I only had it one year when a fellow club member saw where I had planted it and just shook his head and laughed. He knew I had put it in the wrong place. By the third year of bloom, I saw what he was laughing about, lol. Orange Velvet is on the far right... it needs a spot all its own!
July 14, 2019


June 28, 2022


July 8, 2022


June 27, 2020 - it is an EMO, fully open by 6:30am.

@Joy, thank you very much for the acorns!

Now I know why--really had suspicions anyway---the reason Orange Velvet did not grow tall and put out more blooms--planted in a shady spot with the trees not far away so tree roots also contribute to the problem. Somehow I must find a sunny spot away from trees but not where the deer can get it--this will not be easy